Black money no longer exists in Bollywood: Javed Akhtar
The poet-lyricist says celebrities’ involvement in social work doesn’t mean they are hiding black money.
NEW DELHI:
What is wrong if an actor uses his popularity to do some good to society? An irate Javed Akhtar hits back when a journalist asked him if celebrities use social work to hide their black money.
“They don’t pocket any black money. If they associate with some NGO to get taps fixed in some village, does that mean they are using black money? If one of them feeds street dogs, does that mean he is trying to hide the black money behind street dogs? I don’t agree,” Akhtar told reporters in New Delhi on Thursday at an event to launch “Classic Legends”, a (TV channel) Zee Classic’s show.
“Film industry had black money when I came into it, in the 1960s and 1970s, but now it is over. Nobody deals in it now,” said the acclaimed writer, poet and lyricist. “The corporate and bank systems have come, the black money doesn’t exist now.”
Akhtar gave the example of his wife, actor and philanthropist Shabana Azmi, who is associated with several causes.
“She has been working in a village for the past 20 to 22 years. She has been instrumental in helping 40,000 families. She works for the village Nivara, and people who used to sleep on the footpath there, now have a house, a flat. The flats maybe 450 sq ft only, but it is a flat. She didn’t even create a noise about it.”
“When I went for the first time, I asked her, ‘What will you do with this village?’ The village was far away from highway. There was no electricity in the village. Today, there is a pucca road that goes up to that village, there’s a school, a computer centre, woman vocation centre, maternity centre, people are learning English through computer,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 10th, 2012.
What is wrong if an actor uses his popularity to do some good to society? An irate Javed Akhtar hits back when a journalist asked him if celebrities use social work to hide their black money.
“They don’t pocket any black money. If they associate with some NGO to get taps fixed in some village, does that mean they are using black money? If one of them feeds street dogs, does that mean he is trying to hide the black money behind street dogs? I don’t agree,” Akhtar told reporters in New Delhi on Thursday at an event to launch “Classic Legends”, a (TV channel) Zee Classic’s show.
“Film industry had black money when I came into it, in the 1960s and 1970s, but now it is over. Nobody deals in it now,” said the acclaimed writer, poet and lyricist. “The corporate and bank systems have come, the black money doesn’t exist now.”
Akhtar gave the example of his wife, actor and philanthropist Shabana Azmi, who is associated with several causes.
“She has been working in a village for the past 20 to 22 years. She has been instrumental in helping 40,000 families. She works for the village Nivara, and people who used to sleep on the footpath there, now have a house, a flat. The flats maybe 450 sq ft only, but it is a flat. She didn’t even create a noise about it.”
“When I went for the first time, I asked her, ‘What will you do with this village?’ The village was far away from highway. There was no electricity in the village. Today, there is a pucca road that goes up to that village, there’s a school, a computer centre, woman vocation centre, maternity centre, people are learning English through computer,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 10th, 2012.